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# Olympias

#### by Lucy Hewitt

The copyright of this article remains with the original author. Articles may be copied or distributed freely for personal non-profit use, provided that the author is properly credited.

(Editor's note: Olympias' stats conform to Ars Magica 3rd edition. Minor changes are required to change her to 4th edition.)

#### Olympias, filia of Gabriella, follower of Tremere

### Background

Olympias was born in a small backwoods village community, the daughter of the local headman. When she was about nine, two magi - Gabrielle of Tremere and Disvolio of Guernicus, turned up at the village, and blew it to pieces, whilst looking for a magical McGuffin.

(The village in question was a hereditary Diedne covenant, and on a later occasion Olympias went back, to discover that the souls of her ancestors were a very nasty bunch indeed.)

Gabrielle took her new apprentice, and, in addition to teaching her, used a lot of mentem mind control magics on her - mostly to keep the kid in order. One result of this is that Olympias has a very warped idea of how to deal with other people on an emotional level - Gabrielle's teachings taught her to see pleasure and pain as indistinguishable. She has had a succession of relationships with people both male and female, which have generally been of a quite abusive nature (the covenant has hushed up a few embarrassing incidents involving servant girls…). Her most stable relationships are her "business" ones with her sodales, whom she has come to trust over the years.

Her parens was killed in a purge of "people who indulge in extra-curricular activities", and Olympias was deeply involved in the proceedings - on one occasion taking out a renegade Tremere and sticking two rooks of vis through his parma. As a result, her reputation in the order as a whole is a very positive one - a hopolite who has risked life and limb despite not being a combat wizard. Those who know her better are aware of her petty selfishness, tendency to be vindictive and enthusiasm for using Rego Mentem spells to make life easier for herself.

Her home covenant is an autumn one with considerable wealth and mundane influence, ruled by a coterie of older magi, usually at each other's throats. She has spent a lot of time travelling, sometimes doing favours for her elders, sometimes acting as an ambassador, and sometimes just looking for the vis that the old coots are too stingy to hand out (it's not noted above, but she has squirrelled away five or six rooks of mixed vis "for future use"). Consequently, she knows a lot about what's going on in the Tribunal, and is always looking for little bits of information that might be useful one day. Her primary concerns are for her own comfort, which means the security of the covenant as a first priority.

#### Appearance

5'2", Light Build, Grey eyes, Long straight black hair, Tattoo on right upper arm

Name: Olympias

Parens: Gabriella

House: Tremere

Age: 37 (apparent 31)

Size: 0

### Characteristics:

Int | +2 | wily | Str | -2 | slight | Prs | +2 | delicate | Dex | 0 |
Per | +2 | astute | Sta | 0 |  | Com | +3 | eloquent | Qik | -3 | slow reflexes

### Virtues

Exceptional Characteristic [Int] +2
Strong Willed +1
Passion [Love - Ideal Soul Mate]+1
Deft Art [Mentem] +1
Knack [With Certamen +4] +2
Personal Vis Source [Terram]+1
Lucky

### Flaws

Common Fear [Dogs]-2
Major Magic Deficiency [Ignem] -3
Dark Secret -1
Sensitive [must get own way] -1
Compulsion [Physical Comforts] -1

### Personality Traits

Hedonistic +2
Despises Men +2
Ruthless +1
Loyal to Sodales +1

### Reputations

Immoral (2 - Covenant)
Sensitive & Highly Strung (2 - Covenant)
Noble, Put Upon Martyr (2 - Tribunal)
Hopolite (1 - Other Covenants)

#### Confidence

3

### Abilities

Magic Theory 6 (Recreate Effects)
Hermes History 2 (Legal Judgements)
Speak Classical 5 (Ambiguity)
Hermes Lore 3 (Politics)
Scribe Classical 3 (Fast)
Finesse 3 (Discreetness)
Speak Grameric 4 (Ambiguity)
Concentration 3 (Ignore noise)
Parma Magica 4 (Prot from Ignem)
Etiquette 2 (Covenant)
Subterfuge 3 (Cajole)
Certamen 3 (Mentem) +4 knack
Guile 3 (What they want to hear)
Hermetic Law 1(Tribunals)
Dodge 2 (Thrown)
Awareness 3 (At Night)
Occult Lore 3 (Demons)
Faerie Lore 1 (Competitions)
Diplomacy 1 (Negotiations)
Hex 4 (Accidents)
Folk Ken 2 (Hiding Secrets)

### Hermetic Arts

Creo | 9 | Animal | 13 | Ignem | 0
Intellego | 11 | Aquam | 6 | Imaginem | 7
Muto | 5 | Auram | 0 | Mentem | 13
Perdo | 9 | Corpus | 10 | Terram | 8
Rego | 15 | Herbam | 6 | Vim | 7

#### Wizard's Sigil

Hair and eyes develop silver sheen

### Grimoire

20 Aura of Rightful Authority Re/Me 28
10 Sight of the Transparent Motive In/Me 24 Clear Crystal +3
15 Perception of the Conflicting Motive In/Me 24 Sappire +3
20 Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie In/Me 24 Almond +1
15 Panic of the Trembling Heart Cr/Me 22 A Mouse +1
20 Image from the Wizard Torn Re/Im (Co,In req) 18 Opal +3
10 Despair of the Quivering Manacles Re/Co 25 Mannequin /target +5
10 Soothe The Ferocious Bear Re/An 28 Red Mullet +3
10 Repel the Wooden Shafts Re/He 21 (A staff +3)
15 Confusion of the Numbed Will Re/Me 28 (Alcohol +1)
5 Air's Ghostly Form Cr/Au 9 (An Opal +5)
15 The Call To Slumber Re/Me (Co req) 25 Sand +1
15 Viper's Gaze Re/An 28 two seized bones +3
10 Trust of Childlike Faith Pe/Me 22 lock of child hair +3
10 Rise of the Feathery Body Re/Co 21 Eagle Feather +3
20 Tongue of the Beast In/An 24
20 Chirugeon's Healing Touch Cr/Co 19 Bloodstone +5
20 Conviction of Absolute Certainty Cr/Me 22
20 Weaver's Trap of Webs Cr/An 22 Spiderweb +1
25 Marching the Toy Soldier Re/Me 28 Violet Amethyst +3
20 Loss of but a Moment's Memory Pe/Me (In req) 22 Rosemary +1
25 Opening Tome of Animal's Mind In/An 24 (Tail of Sphinx)
15 Tongue of the Plausible Serpent Cr/Me 21

### Own Spells

Conviction of Absolute Certainty: Cr/Me 20 Range Self, dur Sun

Caster places a single, logical statement into their own mind. For the duration, they will believe that this is the case, unless persuaded by logic otherwise, and their body language etc will reflect this belief.

Marching the Toy Soldier: Re/Me 25 Range near, dur Conc.

A Mentem variant on Strings of the Unwilling Marionnette - the magus has control over the target's physical actions, but cannot control their thoughts.

Tongue of the Plausible Serpent: Cr/Me 15 Range Near, dur Sun

The target believes a statement made by the caster, provided that the statement is in agreement with what he expects to be happening, and there is no evidence to contradict it to hand.

Tongue of the Charming Viper: Cr/Me 20 Range Near, dur Sun

As above, but the statement may be one that the target would find unlikely to be true (though not impossible).

Tongue of the Commanding Basilisk: Cr/Me 30 Range Near, dur Sun

The target believes any statement made to him by the caster, unless there is evidence to the contrary available.

### Familiar

Orlando

Orlando is a scruffy ginger Tom cat, father of most of the covenant's current felines. His rivals have had the unfortunate tendency to fall down wells, get trapped in chests on outbound trade caravans and so on - leaving him as the undisputed top Tom. He has no manners whatsoever, loves being fed (especially fish), is a terrible gossip and generally makes a nuisance of himself around other covenant members.

#### Bond Qualities:

Attunement +5
Shared Speech +10
Shared Protection +5
Exchange Virtues +5 (Strong Willed/Lucky)
Shared Ability +5 (Occult Lore/Hex)
Primary Power +5 (2 Perdo / Shrink-Grow 1 size category 2x day)
Independant -5

Gold Cord +2
Silver Cord +2
Bronze Cord +1

Magical Might 5

Intelligence | +1 | Strength | 0 | Presence | +1 | Dexterity | +6
Perception | +5 | Stamina | 0 | Communication | -1 | Quickness | +3

#### Abilities

Hex 5
Occult Lore 2
Stealth 6